


Us Together

by Boketto__Boketto



Category: Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Broken Heart, F/M, Heartfelt, Long lost love, Love, Melancholy, Nebraska, Novel, Omaha, Sequel, Sweet, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-08 08:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11642541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boketto__Boketto/pseuds/Boketto__Boketto
Summary: The wild, not-so-nice red head. The mysterious and beautiful Korean boy. Two unlikely lovers, separated by circumstance- brought together again by time. Follow the young lover's journies of healing and heart break in this continuation of Rainbow Rowell's hit novel, Eleanor and Park.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> These characters and this world are both the property of Rainbow Rowell.

**PARK**

Eleanor hadn't stopped sending Park her special post cards. 

The cards Eleanor used were always the same. They were the ones from that gas station in Minnesota. The one near her uncle’s house. 

Park remembered what the house looked like. And he remembered the horrible knot in his stomach as Eleanor disappeared into it- leaving him forever, waiting on the other side. 

Park sometimes wondered if she would ever run out of that particular card. The only thing he did know for sure about Eleanor right now, was that she would definitely never run out of three-word-song lyrics to send him.

Each new cluster of words, scratched out in that familiar handwriting of all lowercase characters, gave Park a little piece of Eleanor. It was almost the same as holding her Dairy-Queen cone body in his hands... Almost.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**ELEANOR**

 

"What’re you writing?" Eleanor's uncle knocked gently on her door with a smile. "An actual letter to your boyfriend in Omaha?" He was always trying to get the details about Eleanor's relationship with the mysterious Korean boy in Omaha. 

Eleanor chuckled irritably and rolled her eyes. She snorted, "First of all; he's not my boyfriend." Not anymore... "And secondly; I can't say more than just a few words. He probably doesn't even read these stupid things anymore." But maybe he did…

Eleanor's eyes shifted from her uncle to the postcard on the splintered wood desk in front of her. She picked at a fuzzy curl hanging in her eyes and exhaled like she was trying to expel her lungs from her body. 

It hurt to even consider that Park had stopped caring about her. For someone who wanted to simply stop, instead of fade, her heart sure hurt a lot for him. 

Eleanor carefully read over the three words of the month for Park. 

"Talk without speaking." It was U2. Eleanor remembered how Park loved U2 for a few weeks while they went to school together. She wasn't sure if he still liked them or not. After all, Park did jump from band to band like he was riding a lyrical pogo stick. 

Eleanor decided not to think about it. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**PARK**

 

Three years is a really long time if you think about it. Park sometimes looked up at his life and found himself wondering when the heck he ended up where he was. 

He stared around at his apartment with only mild recognition. 

He knew he had moved out of his parent's house about three months ago. He knew that he lived alone. And he knew that his room was the most Ozzy thing anyone would ever see. But for some reason, when Park took a good look around, nothing seemed to click. 

It was familiar... 

But it wasn't his. 

Nothing had felt like his for a long time, he realized. 

Park caught his own eye in the full length mirror hanging on his closet door. For a second, Park didn't recognize himself. It wasn't that he was wearing all black. That was normal. It wasn't that his hair was gelled up in the wildest way possible. That was normal too. It wasn't that his eyes were smeared with dark eyeliner. That was especially normal for him. 

Park found it weird that he couldn't exactly tell why he felt so unfamiliar to himself. 

Park decided not to think about it.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**PARK**

 

Park didn't see the need for college. When he told his mom this, she was absolutely beside herself. 

"Son no attend college," she whimpered. She looked on the verge of tears. "I go wrong." 

Park felt bad, but not bad enough to change his mind. He wanted to focus on music for a while. He didn't play an instrument so he didn't know exactly what he would be doing with his focusing on music time. 

All he knew is that he wanted a chance to focus on it. 

Besides, school only made Park think of Eleanor. And the pain that came with those memories was enough to keep Park, like a registered sex offender, staying at least 5 miles away from any schools at all times.

Since he moved out, his parents had been sending him all of Eleanor's post cards. There was no way for Eleanor to know that he had moved out so his parents were alright with it. It's not like Park moved too far away. He still lived in Omaha. If he tried moving any further, his grandma would probably glue him to a chair and forbid him from leaving ever again. 

He had just received his newest card from Eleanor. 

U2. Nice. U2 never got old. 

Park felt the idea of sending Eleanor a set of lyrics in response creep into his head. He hadn't sent anything to Eleanor in nearly two years. 

Park decided that he should respond to Eleanor. Just this once. So she could see his new address. And so his parents could stop being his middle ground to hearing from her.

  
  


 

 

**ELEANOR**

 

It was a surprise when Eleanor's uncle strolled into her room with mail for her. She never got mail. Not even from her mom (who she hadn't heard from in almost a year). 

"Thanks," Eleanor said offhandedly to her uncle. She didn't have time to be polite. All of her words were instantly sucked out of her throat the moment she read Park's name scrawled onto the front of the post card. 

She noticed that his address was different from before almost right away. It looked like an apartment address. 

Eleanor flipped the card over to read the other side. She half expected there to be something written there like, "PUNKED", and for a bunch of hidden cameras to pop out from her plant and desk and bed and things. 

Instead, she was greeted with a pleasant yet short message.

"My new address. -Park" 

Eleanor smiled to herself. Her heart fluttered. And for a second, it almost felt like Park was right there with her. 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters and this world both belong to Rainbow Rowell.

** ELEANOR **

 

Eleanor's eyes were throbbing. It wasn't a surprise to her. She had been staring at Park's handwriting for hours in the dark.

After she received the surprise mail, she had crawled into bed, not knowing what to do. For some reason, the brief message sent her brain into total shut down mode. Eleanor hadn't slept all night. She was too busy being shocked over the fact that Park wrote her. That, even though the message was brief, he still cared enough to send anything to her at all.

She turned the post card in her hands to look at the picture on the front. It was of downtown Omaha. She remembered her first date with Park there. Boy had that night turned to shit.

Somehow though, with this card in her hands, all of the horrible things that came to pass that night with Richie faded away.

She remembered the way Park held her in the back of his family's Impala. She remembered how her nerves turned to fire when he touched her. Eleanor didn't just miss him-her heart screamed for him. Her body longed to feel his touch again.

She writhed around in bed for a second, burying her face in her pillow.

Eleanor couldn't even bring herself to sleep. She knew that it wouldn't help. She was smart enough to  know that the moment she closed her eyes, Park's touch would haunt her dreams too. 

 

 

 

 

** PARK **

 

Park was disappointed when he opened the mail box outside of his apartment door. It was empty.

Park hadn't received his usual monthly mail from Eleanor. He had checked every morning for weeks, just to make sure that it wasn't late.

Park promised himself that today would be the last day he checked for a new post from Eleanor.

Had he scared her off with his response to her U2 post card?

Park couldn't help but worry that he accidentally smashed the delicate remains of their relationship with his dumb attempt to connect with Eleanor a bit more.

He remembered how Eleanor used to think of him as "Stupid Asian Kid". She was right. Park really was a Stupid Asian Kid. No smart guy would do something to destroy a relationship that was barely there in the first place.

Park started to retreat back into his apartment, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed a familiar mop of red hair strolling down the pathway in the opposite direction of his room. The hair was turned away from him. For a split second, Park's lungs filled up with joy. For a moment, he actually thought that Eleanor had traveled back to Omaha to see him. His joy quickly disappeared. This wasn't the first time that Park had seen a head full of red curls and jumped to the conclusion that it was Eleanor. 

It most definitely wasn't her. It never was her. Park had gotten excited over a million redheads, only to have his heart ripped out of his chest every time. They would turn around and have blue eyes instead of brown. They'd all be too skinny. None of them would smell like vanilla. It was all too much for a young man's heart to bear. 

Park dejectedly went to close his door again. Before he did, he noticed that his room number had fallen off again. That pesky copper 306 never stayed put. Park shoved it back onto his door. He made a mental note that he should invest in some superglue to fix that problem more permanently as he shut his door. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

** ELEANOR **

Why was Eleanor even here? She didn't know. She had sworn never to return to Omaha for as long as she lived; yet here she was. 

Eleanor didn't feel like she belonged back here. She walked down the streets near Richie's house and near Park's house and near the school and she was dully surprised at how things had changed. 

Park's family's RV was missing from the driveway. Richie's house seemed to be completely abandoned now. The school buses dropped off kids that Eleanor had never seen before. Eleanor didn't know what she expected. She did know that she didn't anticipate so many small changes. Maybe Eleanor expected the whole place to be entirely uprooted and turned on it's head. 

What really freaked Eleanor out was that life had continued on without her. In her head, even though she knew it was silly, she imagined the whole of her neighborhood to be put on pause the moment she crossed the city limits. Seeing everything here progressing forward as normal made Eleanor feel strange. Like she was realizing how her presence in this place was insignificant to so many people.

Eleanor took a bus to the street that Park's new address was located. She listened to her Walkman as she made the short journey. After moving in with her uncle, Eleanor was allowed to buy as many tapes as she wanted. She could listen to all of the music that she wanted to without having it be crushed under Richie's wrath. It was nice. 

The apartment was dingy. Bland and boring. Like the embodiment of math homework in a building. The thought of Park living someplace so lame made Eleanor laugh out loud. 

There was no interior to the building. It looked like a cheap motel with all of the doors outside and stairs leading up to each of the levels. 

Eleanor ventured up to the third floor and looked for 306. She couldn't find it. There was 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, a blank door that she assumed was a broom closet or something, and then the end of the building where a public restroom sat. Eleanor hung her head a bit, dipping her chin down. She turned around and slunk back  towards the staircase. 

The broom closet now had a number on it. It was like magic. One second it was blank, the next second, it had 306 written on it in plain copper letters. Eleanor's heart soured. If Park had given her the right address, this is where she would find him. 

Eleanor was sure that nobody had ever taken so long to knock on a door in the history of doors. After what felt like hours of standing, frozen, with a massive amount or butterflies in her stomach, Eleanor knocked gently. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters and this world belong to Rainbow Rowell.

**PARK**

His mom must have been there to scold him about not calling her enough. Park's mom never ran out of things to complain about. She was always telling Park how he needed to eat more or how he needed to visit more. 

Whenever she would take the time to drive over to his apartment, she'd spend the whole time nitpicking at his life. "Bed not made," she'd scold. "Move. I do everything for you. Even after you move."  Park always pretended to be angry with her for being so heavy-handed in his matters, but it was nice to know that his mother wanted to be part of his life. It made him feel special.

Park got up to let his mom in. He prepared himself for the onslaught of critique he was about to receive for his messy room. He hadn't cleaned in about three weeks and everything was an absolute mess. 

Instead of opening the door and getting the familiar treatment from his mother, Park nearly passed out as he came face to face with Eleanor Douglas. Park suddenly became very aware of the dirty underpants hanging from practically every piece of furniture in his apartment. His face grew hot. 

Park was positive that this was a dream. 

 

 

 

 

 

**ELEANOR**

Being so close to Park for the first time in three years, Eleanor expected to feel strange. She didn't expect for her heart to skip a million beats and for her body to turn to jelly. 

It felt like a weight that she hadn't even felt before was lifted off her shoulders. Eleanor was light as air and as giddy as a third grader all of a sudden. Her euphoria only grew as Park's face grew red when he looked at her. 

Park's face was just as beautiful as it had been the last time she saw him. He looked more tired than before though. And he was still wearing his eyeliner- except it looked like someone had taken eye shadow to his lids as well as the liner. Which, Eleanor decided, was incredibly possible. Park liked looking like Bowie and Ozzy and both wore makeup just like that. 

Eleanor didn't want to be the first to say something, but it was obvious that Park wouldn't be doing anything, much less talking, until she spoke up.

"I expected at least a hello." Eleanor rolled her eyes. 

Park took a second before clearing his throat. His eyes unclouded and he gazed at her with recognition. "Hello." 

Eleanor felt shivers travel down her spine and out to her arms and legs. Park's voice had changed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters and this world belong to Rainbow Rowell.

**ELEANOR**

Were dramatic, romantic reunions supposed to be so painfully awkward? Eleanor didn't know. She expected for Park to wrap her body in an embrace the moment he opened the door. So far, all the Stupid Asian Kid was doing was staring at her with eyes as big as dinner plates. Park stared at her like she was a two head creature that just clawed it's way out from underground. 

They hadn't said anything besides their greetings. Eleanor had been sitting in Park's new, dirty, living room for thirty minutes and she was starting to get a bit annoyed with the awkward silence. 

After a few more seconds, Eleanor couldn't handle it anymore. "Jesus fuck... Just talk to me, Park."

Park stared at her blankly for a good ten seconds which made Eleanor squirm a bit on the lumpy green couch. She didn't think she would feel this uncomfortable around Park. She hated it.

 

 

 

 

**PARK**

"Jesus fuck... Just talk to me, Park," Eleanor demanded in her familiar angry voice. 

Her swearing at him wasn't very surprising. Park hadn't spoken once to her since he offered her his feeble attempt at "hello" half an hour ago. What surprised Park was her word choice. "Jesus fuck." 

Park chuckled to himself quietly. "Jesus fuck," he repeated. "Those were the first two words I said to you on the bus. Now, I haven't seen you for years, and practically the first thing you say to me is "jesus fuck"." Park knew he was way too amused over this as he laughed. "How the tables have turned."

Eleanor rolled her eyes. The look she gave him was so familiar. It made Park's heart skip a beat. Eleanor was obviously trying to hold back a laugh. She was pretending to be angry with him to disguise the fact that she wanted to laugh along with him. 

It was nice that Park could still read her like a book even after all of their years apart. 

"Anyway." Park decided that it was now officially safe to engage in conversation. "Why did you decide to come back now?" He figured it had something to do with his postcard but he wanted to hear it from her. 

 

 

 

 

 

**ELEANOR**

It was obvious that Park was fishing for her to tell him that her motivation to come back was because of that post card he sent her. And he was right. Kind of. 

For years, Park had sent Eleanor letter after letter. Eleanor had always ignored them. She couldn't bring herself to write him back. If letters from Park was all it took to come back to Omaha, then Eleanor would have done that years ago.

Eleanor supposed that her reasoning for coming back was the same as her reasoning for sending that first lyrical post card to Park.

"I was just ready to connect," Eleanor said honestly. She had spent so long pretending that Park didn't exist. Pretending that she could just stop with him. But even after not seeing him or hearing from him, she was still hung up on him. They ended up just like Romeo and Juliet in the end, even though that's exactly what Eleanor was trying to avoid.

Just as three years ago when she finally sent something to Park, Eleanor had become tired of trying to achieve what she obviously couldn't do. Eleanor couldn't forget about Park.


	5. Chapter 5

**PARK**

A connection. Park supposed that that was why he reached out to Eleanor too. Park knew that he was more than ready to connect with Eleanor again. "Me too," Park started. "Why I sent you a letter. I wanted to connect again." 

Park felt the weight in his chest slowly and steadily dispersing, leaving his body feeling light. He was so worried that Eleanor would be cross with him for his attempt at contact. Knowing that Eleanor was also itching to see him again comforted Park more than anything in the world. 

Eleanor shifted on the couch, clearing her throat. "How's college?" 

Park's breath caught in his throat and his heart beat cold. For some reason, Park didn't particularly want to admit to Eleanor that he had opted out of higher education. It felt as if he would disappoint her somehow by admitting this. 

After a minute or two of thought, Park decided that it was best just to be honest. If Eleanor was, somehow, upset with him for not attending a university, the worst that could happen was Park receiving a scolding by the prettiest girl on Earth. Park, who had been standing for this entire time, gingerly sat down next to Eleanor. Park shrugged nonchalantly. "I decided not to go. Waste of time."

 

 

 

 

 

**ELEANOR**

"I decided not to go." That bounced between Eleanor's ears as she processed the information.

Park's decision completely threw Eleanor for a loop. Eleanor wasn't mad, not at all, but she couldn't rationalize why Park would make such a decision. If anything, Eleanor couldn't believe that Park's mother would allow that. 

"No college?" Eleanor clarified with a skeptical voice. "YOUR mom was cool with that?" Eleanor couldn't hold back a laugh. "What? Did you get disowned or something."

Park's face lit up. 

Eleanor felt her head become engulfed in heat as she blushed deeply. That smile was so handsome. How could anyone be so delightfully made?

Park rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I damn-near was," he joked pleasantly, casually leaning back into the couch. 

Eleanor was pleased that, after breaking the extreme awkwardness, Park was still comfortable enough with her to banter and let his guard down. Still, one thing was peaking her interest. "Why didn't you go though?" As far as she knew, Park never disliked learning. He wasn't a huge fan of the people, but he wasn't half bad at the assignments and test-taking. So it was understandable that Eleanor would be a little confused as to why he just decided not to go. 

Park went quiet again. 

 

 

 

 

**PARK**

 

Park had to bite his tongue. He couldn't tell Eleanor the real reason he decided not to go back to school. No way Park could tell Eleanor that school made him miss her, that he had this stupid narrative in his head where Eleanor and he attended college together. Park couldn't just say, "Well school makes me want to curl up in a ball and sob because I miss you all the time like a baby." Instead of divulging any of this, Park rattled off the answer he provided to his parents, "I want to focus on music." It wasn't untrue, but it was bullshit. Park could tell that Eleanor saw straight through that excuse.

"You don't even play an instrument," Eleanor reminded him. "That's the dumbest reason ever. You decide to not go to school, because you want to focus on a thing you don't even know how to do." 

Park figured that Eleanor wouldn't except that rationalization, but Park stuck to it, hoping he could convince her to move on from it. "I never said I wanted to play it," Park retaliated. "I just want some time to observe it." That was stupid. 

Eleanor stared at Park with a displeased glare. "Then major in lyrical studies."

Park exhaled deeply. He was backed into a corner, and he couldn't wiggle out. "Fine," he relented. "I just missed you. School sucks without you."


End file.
